Thursday, January 17, 2008

Thursday, January 17, 2008 Seoul must end curbs on US beef for FTA, but WHY $

Seoul must end curbs on US beef for FTA

Friday, 18 January 2008 Agence France-Presse . Seoul

South Korea must lift all restrictions on the import of US beef to secure Congressional approval of a free trade agreement, a US business body warned Wednesday. The wide-ranging deal was signed last June 30 but awaits ratification by the legislatures of both countries. 'Senior members of Congress as well as the US administration have made it very clear that the KORUS (Korea-US) FTA will not be considered for ratification until the Korean beef market is fully reopened,' said William Oberlin, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea.

The beef issue is not technically part of the pact but is a major irritant in trade ties. South Korea in 2006 ended a total ban on US beef imports, imposed in 2003 due to concerns over mad cow disease. But it allows only meat from cattle aged 30 months or less, and excludes bones and other materials deemed to carry a risk of spreading the disease.

It has suspended imports several times after discovering banned material in US meat shipments. Oberlin told a press conference that the World Animal Health Organisation had ruled last May that all types of US beef are safe for export, and Seoul had repeatedly promised to accept its recommendations.

South Korea was once the third largest market for US beef, with imports worth 850 million dollars a year before the ban in 2003. Chamber president Tami Overby said that in the light of elections in both countries this year, the sooner the FTA legislation was passed, the better. Korea holds a general election in April and the US presidential election is in November.

Total trade between South Korea and the US was worth 74 billion dollars in 2006. Some studies show this could rise by up to 20 billion dollars in coming years under a free trade regime. Oberlin said it was up to both legislatures 'to ensure that this historic, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is not missed.' He praised the administration of President Roh Moo-Hyun, who leaves office next month, 'for turning Korea into the Asian nation that is leading the way in promoting free trade agreements.' Oberlin urged the incoming government of Lee Myung-Bak to promote greater labour flexibility in both foreign and local businesses. He cited the need for 'predictability, consistency and transparency' in regulations to attract foreign investment.

My name in Seoungwon Lee and I work for National Assemblywoman (MP) Sang-Jeong Sim, in South Korea. Below is a message from Mr. Kwon. Please get back to us regarding the letter. Thank you. Seoungwon Lee Legislative Assistant National Assembly Republic of Korea

Dear Terry S. Singeltary Sr.

Greetings from Korea.

I have learned about what you and your family have been through a internet. Being the father of a small family, I can only imagine the sense of loss that you and your family still must feel regarding your mother.

Through the internet, many people here in Korea have learnt about the story of your family and it has created a great deal of concern. Your experience had particular relevance for the citizens here, for the Korean government, in connection to the free trade agreement it is negotiating with the United States, is about to restart the sale of the unsafe American beef to the general public.

The Korean government has already imported the first load American beef and is currently going through the inspection period. There has been a great deal of controversy regarding the safety of these products, and a precipitous increase in public interest regarding the causes and symptoms of vCJD.

It is in this context that we are preparing a session together with National Assembly members and relevant NGOs to hear from those who have had direct experience with the human variant of BSE. We are very interested in hearing about the symptoms that your mother showed, your views on the response from the US government to the many deaths that resulted from this disease, the reaction from the general public, and any other area that you would wish to speak about. There would also be experts and academics in the area to speak at the session as well. We believe that it would greatly contribute to raising awareness about the issue, as well as help politicians and civic activists to consider the repercussions of the beef import issue.

We would like to request your help in this regard. We are planning for the session to be held in Seoul on the 23rd of this November. We would very much like to have you present in order to help prevent such tragic incidents from happening in Korea. We would, of course, pay for the trip and accommodations for the duration of your stay. If you were to participate, we could also meet with members from the agricultural committee of the National Assembly and from other related organizations to urge more interest to the issue.

Please do not hesitate to offer suggestions or ask us any questions that you might have. We look forward to a positive response and to meeting you in Seoul.

Thank you. Sincerely, Sim Sang-Jeong Head of the Democratic Labor Party Parliamentary Committee on the Korea-US FTA Member of the National Assembly Republic of Korea

Answering critics like Terry Singeltary, who feels that the U.S. under-counts CJD, Schonberger conceded that the current surveillance system has errors but stated that most of the errors will be confined to the older population.

"My name is Terry S Singeltary Sr, and I live in Bacliff, Texas. I lost my mom to hvCJD (Heidenhain variant CJD) and have been searching for answers ever since. What I have found is that we have not been told the truth. CWD in deer and elk is a small portion of a much bigger problem." ...

Like lambs to the slaughter 31 March 2001 Debora MacKenzie Magazine issue 2284

FOUR years ago, Terry Singeltary watched his mother die horribly from a degenerative brain disease. Doctors told him it was Alzheimer's, but Singeltary was suspicious. The diagnosis didn't fit her violent symptoms, and he demanded an autopsy. It showed she had died of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Most doctors believe that sCJD is caused by a prion protein deforming by chance into a killer. But Singeltary thinks otherwise. He is one of a number of campaigners who say that some sCJD, like the variant CJD related to BSE, is caused by eating meat from infected animals. Their suspicions have focused on sheep carrying scrapie, a BSE-like disease that is wide spread in flocks across Europe and North America. Now scientists in France have stumbled across new evidence that adds weight to the campaigners' fears. To their complete surprise, the researchers found that one strain of scrapie causes the same brain damage in mice as sCJD. "This means we cannot rule out that at least some sCJD may be caused by some strains of scrapie," says team member Jean-Philippe Deslys of the French Atomic Energy Commission's medical research laboratory in Fontenay-aux-Roses, south-west of Paris. Hans Kretschmar of the University of Göttingen, who coordinates CJD surveillance in Germany, is so concerned by the findings that he now wants to trawl back through past sCJD cases to see if any might have been caused by eating infected mutton or lamb. ...

About Me

My mother was murdered by what I call corporate and political homicide i.e. FOR PROFIT! she died from a rare phenotype of CJD i.e. the Heidenhain Variant of Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease i.e. sporadic, simply meaning from unknown route and source. I have simply been trying to validate her death DOD 12/14/97 with the truth. There is a route, and there is a source. There are many here in the USA. WE must make CJD and all human TSE, of all age groups 'reportable' Nationally and Internationally, with a written CJD questionnaire asking real questions pertaining to route and source of this agent. Friendly fire has the potential to play a huge role in the continued transmission of this agent via the medical, dental, and surgical arena. We must not flounder any longer. ...TSS